NAU is one of four Big Sky schools in the poll. Montana State is No. 2 after escaping against Southern Utah, while Eastern Washington is No. 7 after defeating Montana on Saturday. The Grizzlies dropped out of the poll for the first time since 1998, snapping a streak of 195 straight appearances dating to the Nov. 2, 1998 poll. Cal Poly is No. 19.

The ranking is the highest for the Lumberjacks since the 2008 season. NAU has now won four consecutive games for the first time since 2009 and opened conference play 2-0 for the first time since 2008. NAU won six in a row during the 2008 season.

NAU opened its season with a 63-6 loss at Arizona State, and trailed UNLV 14-0 at the half of its second game. Since then, Northern Arizona has outscored opponents 151-41 en route to four wins.